Working in the areas surrounding Lake Urmia – the world’s second largest hyper-saline lake  and the largest inland wetland in Iran – the Umbrella Group of Naghadeh NGOs addresses water management issues that include wetland restoration, adaptation to droughts, farm irrigation, and sedimentation in canals. Although previous efforts to restore the rapidly disappearing Lake Urmia focused on the lake itself, this initiative took an innovative approach by instead focusing on the restoration and conservation of satellite wetlands surrounding the lake. The partnership of seven community NGOs has restored over 1,600 hectares of satellite wetlands where previous government initiatives had failed. Their work has improved the livelihoods of local farmers, strengthened water access, enhanced environmental health, and built social capital among communities in the region. The restored satellite wetlands have also restored the ecosystem functioning of degraded Lake Urmia, benefitting globally important biodiversity and the surrounding population.

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